‘Not a Fan’ grows across America
By Ruth Schenk | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
More than 25,000 people have logged onto www.nota fan.com to tell their stories of moving from fan to follower of Jesus. The numbers grow every day.
Some heard about it on Twitter or Facebook, from a friend or from Zondervan Publishing Co., which will release the "Not a Fan" book on May 22 in a webcast that will feature
Southeast Teaching Minister Kyle Idleman, best-selling author Lee Strobel and Mark Hall, lead singer of Casting Crowns.
The question, "Are you a follower of Jesus?," is resonating across the United States as people begin to understand that admiring Jesus isn’t enough. He is looking for people who are committed to following Him completely.
“It has to be follower all the way … ”
Mary Sharp
First Baptist Church
Kissimmee, Florida
Mary Sharp missed the first week of the "Not a Fan" discipleship series at First Baptist Church of Kissimmee, Fla., on Easter Sunday, April 24.
Her pastor, Tim Wilder, a promotion for "Not a Fan" on the Internet and ordered 100 T-shirts, 300 journals and study materials.
The shirts caused quite a stir as members of the church wore them around Kissimmee, where much of life revolves around Disney World.
For the last 10 years, Sharp, 31, has dealt with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a thickening of heart muscle.
She hated missing that first lesson, but hospital visits have been chronic and discouraging.
Life-threatening illness and the possibility of a heart transplant drew Sharp to faith in Christ. And it’s what keeps her living on the edge.
She was still hurting and a little down when she went to the second "Not a Fan" class. In the video, called “A Follower’s Story,” which accompanies the "Not a Fan" study, a
main character deals with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
“That got my attention,” Sharp said. “The only other time I’ve heard my heart problem discussed was in a meeting with 12 specialists.”
"Not a Fan" changed how Sharp sees life.
“I don’t have time to be a fan of Jesus,” said Sharp. “It has to be follower all the way. I realize that even with all my cardiac disabilities, I still have the ability to serve God. It took
me a long time to figure out that even when I’m stuck in the hospital and it seems like jail, I can talk with doctors and nurses about Jesus.
I am not a fan. I am committed to following Jesus, no matter what.”
“This is the closest thing to real revival we’ve ever experienced.”
Not a Fan changes priorities at Calvary Christian Church
Brian Walton
Pastor of Calvary Christian Church
Winchester, Ky.
Pastor Brian Walton did not know Southeast Teaching Minister Kyle Idleman before using the "Not a Fan" discipleship study at his church. Things began to change as the
church studied the whole concept of raising the bar on complete commitment.
“'Not a Fan' was a big deal for our congregation. The words that come to mind to describe our experience are ‘Wow, thank you and revival,’” Walton said. “Every now and then
a concept or a question comes along that is God-inspired. Are you a fan or follower of Jesus has already changed thousands of lives and will continue to do so.”
At Calvary Christian Church, more than 600 teenagers and adults signed up for the study. Walton said there has been a 26 percent increase in Sunday attendance and more
than 30 baptisms since the study began last month.
“This has been the closest thing to real revival we’ve ever experienced,” Walton said. “People were sad to see the series end. When it was over, people kept bringing more
and more people with them as they strived to live out what they learned in the series.”
Some volunteered in a soup kitchen with their small group, while others signed up for mission trips to Kenya and Guatemala.
“People in our congregation are certainly living in the tension of what is the best use of their time, money and material possessions,” Walton said. “We want to be followers
of Jesus.”
“In the Bible, God didn’t beg people
to follow Him.”
Heath Tibbetts
Discipleship Pastor of Stewartstown
Baptist Church
Stewartstown, Pa.
Discipleship Pastor Heath Tibbetts doesn’t usually open promotional material that comes in the mail from publishers.
“I usually just throw them in the trash,” Tibbetts said. “There are so many books out on how to be the ‘perfect’ Christian.”
But "Not a Fan" caught his eye, and Tibbetts began to read through the study materials.
“For a few years, I have been responsible for leading that ministry in our church,” she said. “After watching other ministers do it in previous churches and working on it as an
actual job, I realize that as a church, we can never push people into a discipleship program. Either people care to learn more or they don’t.”
Tibbetts began studying invitations in the Bible.
“I found that people weren’t begged to follow God,” he said. “They were challenged to follow God. I realized that God was telling me to stop trying to program discipleship and
start encouraging it. 'Not a Fan' is exactly what we need at our church.”
“Not a Fan gave us a
tremendous boost."
Dale Harlow
Pastor of Northfield Church of Christ
Fort Dodge, Iowa
Dale Harlow, pastor of Northfield Church of Christ, graduated from Cincinnati Christian University with Southeast Senior Minister Dave Stone, and he tracks the worship
messages from Southeast.
“We did Kyle Idleman’s ‘H2O’ series at our church,” Harlow said. “It was so good that from that point on, we wanted to be part of new studies.”
“'Not a Fan' gave us a tremendous boost,” he said. “It’s been exciting to see people move from being fans to true followers of Christ. Jesus never said to go make converts.
He wanted disciples.”
“This belongs in NFL locker rooms.”
‘Not a Fan’ resonates with
professional athletes
Caleb Campbell,
Linebacker, Detroit Lions
Caleb Campbell is a linebacker for the Detroit Lions football team. He also is a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, where he played football before being drafted by the Lions in the
seventh round of the 2008 National Football League Draft.
In addition to being an all-star athlete through high school, Campbell was active in his youth group and continues to twitter about his faith.
No one knows exactly how Campbell plugged into “Not a Fan,” but he sent a message to Idleman: “Would love to bring you guys into the NFL locker rooms and small groups
there. I will start promoting you guys to them. I am a big fan of 'Not a Fan.'”